Signals

United Arab Emirates – The Saudi Investment Bank and creative agency Impact BBDO have launched I am Saudi, a campaign celebrating national heritage with a bespoke typeface.

Inspired by architecture, art and cultural traditions across the Kingdom, each letter in the typeface reflects a regional heritage, merging traditional Kufic script with a contemporary look. 

Alongside the typeface, Impact BBDO has spearheaded the creation of an image library in partnership with The Saudi Investment Bank and Arabsstock. While the typeface reflects the country’s diversity through design, the library showcases the people and places that inspired the font’s creation.

Released on Saudi National Day, both the font and library are free, encouraging creative use to foster national pride and unity.

The campaign reflects insights from The Future Laboratory and Together Group’s New Codes of Luxury in Saudi Arabia report, which explored the Kingdom’s aims to promote culture, conserve heritage and boost enterprise within the emirate.

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, foresight analyst Simar Deol unpacks the latest US election news.

: At a recent rally, former president and Republican candidate Donald J Trump chose comedian Tony Hinchcliffe to kick off the event. However, Hinchcliffe’s jokes backfired. He called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’, causing pop icon and Puerto Rican native Bad Bunny to immediately declare his support for Democratic nominee and vice-president Kamala Harris. As reported in The Power of Precision Micro-Influencing, young voters are likely to turn to influencers and celebrities ahead of the upcoming elections.

: Keeping in line with US election news, following Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’ decision to block an endorsement of Kamala Harris, more than 200,000 people have cancelled their digital subscription to the news platform. The figure represents 8% of its total subscribers, showcasing that consumers expect businesses to express their political and identity values.

: With the economy being the most pressing matter for most voters, economists are perplexed as to why many still feel a lingering pessimism in the US, despite inflation rates returning to normal, according to The New York Times. The ongoing ‘vibecession’ is almost over, but businesses need to be wary that consumer mindsets have changed as a result of years of struggling with the Cost of Living Crisis.